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Cases and enforcement · Ongoing

Andersen et al. v. Stability AI Ltd. et al., 3:23-cv-00201-WHO (N.D. Cal.)

Verified Checked against its sources on 3 sources quoted

Where
California, United States
Court or authority
US – N.D. Cal.
Status
ONGOING: CLASS CERTIFICATION AND SUMMARY JUDGMENT HEARING SET 17 FEB 2027; JURY TRIAL SET 1 JUNE 2027
Filed
2023-01-13 (complaint filed)
Case type
Copyright, DMCA, Right of Publicity, Unfair Competition, Unjust Enrichment
Plaintiffs or complainants
Sarah Andersen, Kelly McKernan, Karla Ortiz; later added artists including Hawke Southworth, Grzegorz Rutkowski, Gregory Manchess, Gerald Brom, Jingna Zhang, Julia Kaye and Adam Ellis (proposed class)
Defendants
Stability AI Ltd., Stability AI, Inc., Midjourney, Inc., DeviantArt, Inc., Runway AI, Inc. (added by amendment)
Legal issues
Copyright infringement, DMCA violations, Right of publicity violations, Breach of DeviantArt Terms of Service, Unfair competition, Unjust enrichment

Summary

Artists Sarah Andersen, Kelly McKernan and Karla Ortiz filed this proposed class action on January 13, 2023, against Stability AI, Midjourney and DeviantArt; more artists and the defendant Runway AI were added later. They allege that the image generators were trained on their copyrighted works without permission and that Stable Diffusion contains the works in compressed form. In August 2024 Judge William H. Orrick let copyright infringement and induced infringement claims proceed while dismissing DMCA claims with prejudice. Under a February 2, 2026, scheduling order, class certification and summary judgment motions are to be heard on February 17, 2027, and a jury trial is set for June 1, 2027. The claims remain allegations; there has been no settlement.

Key dates

  1. January 13, 2023Filed
  2. October 16, 2026Checked against sources
  3. October 21, 2026Checked against sources

Developments are added when the record is reviewed. Next review: January 15, 2027.

Evidence

Each passage is quoted from its source. The quoted passages are re-checked against the live pages every month.

  1. Case 3:23-cv-00201 Document 1 Filed 01/13/23 Page 1 of 46

    Supports: docket number and filing date

    Complaint, Andersen v. Stability AI, 3:23-cv-00201, ECF 1 U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal. (via CourtListener RECAP) Primary source

  2. Motion Hearing on Class Certification November 4, 2026 at 2:00 p.m February 17, 2027

    Supports: class certification and summary judgment hearing moved to 17 Feb. 2027 (trial moved to June 1, 2027, in the same table)

    Order Granting in Part Plaintiffs' Motion to Modify Case Schedule, ECF 409 (2 Feb. 2026) U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal. (via CourtListener RECAP) Primary source

  3. District court grants in part and denies in part defendants' motions to dismiss plaintiffs' claims that defendants infringed plaintiffs' artworks by including those works in data used to train defendants' AI product.

    Supports: August 2024 ruling

    The court dismissed plaintiffs' Section 1202(a) claim with prejudice.

    Supports: DMCA claim dismissed

    Andersen v. Stability AI (August 2024) Loeb & Loeb Reporting or analysis

Suggested citation. Eminence Scan, “Andersen et al. v. Stability AI Ltd. et al., 3:23-cv-00201-WHO (N.D. Cal.)”, Eminence Growth Solutions, last verified October 16, 2026, https://eminencegrowthsolutions.com/tools/eminence-scan/record/case-030/.

Using our research: you may read and quote Eminence Scan with credit to “Eminence Scan, Eminence Growth Solutions” and a link; all other rights reserved. Terms: Using our research.

Spotted an error, or a development we have missed? Report a correction. How we check records: research methodology.